Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-17

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The plans below show a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The plans below show a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Student answer (Band 5.0)

The map illustrates the design of a college cafe, how it looks before and after renovation.

Overall, the significant change in today's cafe has had outdoor seating with barbecue arrangments, further salad bar has construct to the west side of the cafe and staff dining rooms has converted into take away food and coffee bar, while khichen,toilets and seating arrangments has same as before.

Let talk about in details,a significant change in today's cafe has outdoor area with a corner for barbecue. In comparison, salad area has introduced in west corner of the cafe.

Furthermore, serving area is also convert into hot meals. While khichen, tables, chairs and toilets are on the same spot. Whereas, staff dining room is converted into take away food and coffee bar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to summarise the main features of the two plans, noting key changes such as the addition of outdoor seating, a barbecue area, a salad bar, and the conversion of the staff dining rooms into a take away food and coffee bar. While these core comparisons are present, the response suffers from a significant under-length issue, containing only 127 words compared to the required 150-word minimum. Furthermore, there are some minor inaccuracies and repetitions in reporting details. Because the response falls short of the word count threshold and development is somewhat limited, it aligns best with Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response attempts an overall overview and is split into short paragraphs, which gives a basic structure. However, the progression is disjointed, and the cohesive devices used are awkward and unnatural, such as 'Let talk about in details'. Paragraphing is also very fragmented, with single-sentence paragraphs disrupting the flow of the description. Referencing between sentences lacks precision, making the arrangement somewhat mechanical and repetitive. This level of organisation corresponds to Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses a basic vocabulary range suitable for describing simple map features, including terms like 'kitchen', 'toilets', 'salad bar', and 'coffee bar'. However, there are frequent word-formation and word-choice errors, such as 'arrangments' instead of arrangements, 'construct' instead of constructed, and 'convert' instead of converted. Spelling errors also occur, such as 'khichen'. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic message, the frequent lexical errors restrict the score to Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates a very limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and flawed complex constructions. There are numerous grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense inconsistencies and passive voice errors, such as 'has had outdoor seating', 'salad bar has construct', and 'is also convert'. Punctuation and spacing errors (e.g., missing spaces after commas in 'khichen,toilets') are also noticeable. These frequent errors impede smooth reading and place the grammar at Band 5.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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